mischievous

adjective

ˈmis-chə-vəs How to pronounce mischievous (audio)
Definition of mischievousnext
1
as in wicked
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness the children had been so mischievous that we had to pay the babysitter extra and then clean up the mess

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in naughty
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior punished for their mischievous tricks on the neighbors

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dangerous
causing or capable of causing harm mischievous gossip that ruined a good teacher's reputation

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mischievous The stories feature the titular George, a mischievous, tailless, almost-always-smiling monkey exploring New York City, and his human companion, the Man in the Yellow Hat. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026 The extended chords radiated color, but despite the influence of hip-hop and video-game music, the playing felt less mischievous than relentlessly mechanical. — Rae-Aila Crumble, Pitchfork, 3 Aug. 2026 The former child star played mischievous middle child Randy Taylor on the Tim Allen sitcom. — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 30 July 2026 Catching mischievous agents in real time The Hugging Face incident reveals the importance of real-time monitoring. — Harry Booth, Time, 24 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for mischievous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mischievous
  1. wicked
  2. naughty
  3. dangerous
  4. playful
  5. bad
  6. harmful
  7. impish
  8. adverse
Adjective
  • Kiss off the haters with a pretty wicked portrait from our Free Photobooth.
    — Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Along with other large parts of Northwest Indiana, East Chicago was hit with power outages following a wicked storm that blasted through the area a week ago Tuesday.
    — Lauren Victory, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of wicked
Adjective
  • Romantic, criminal and naughty hijinks ensue and bonds are tested — and ultimately reinforced.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Queen Elizabeth—long known as a lover of horses—was a frequent recipient of the pony’s naughty side, like in 2017, when Corporal Cruachan attempted to take a bite of the flowers the queen was holding during a visit to Stirling Castle.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of naughty
Adjective
  • The desert’s location on the southern border has led to many migrants attempting to cross it by using dangerous backcountry routes, the experts said.
    — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Rather, this is a dangerous, shape-shifting synthetic entity that ravaged their entire planet.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of dangerous
Adjective
  • Classic tees for effortless layering, elegant slips for summer’s heat, statement skirts for a touch of drama, and playful outerwear for the season ahead.
    — Minty Mellon, Vogue, 24 Aug. 2026
  • This flash of color feels like a playful wink—there’s something just a little Wes Anderson about it.
    — Megan Rose Murray, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of playful
Adjective
  • Poor Anton has been left out of the drama all day, an effort by Billie and Samir to prevent an already bad futzing from escalating to something severe, and that’s never where Anton likes to be.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Although rarely seen, its reemergence earlier this summer is a signal of how bad the region’s ongoing drought has gotten, as well as a warning for the difficult months ahead.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of bad
Adjective
  • California was among dozens of states that sued Meta in 2023, alleging in a lawsuit that the social media giant intentionally designed harmful and addictive features to hook children while misleading the public about the dangers.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The report said the company was strengthening its research infrastructure, increasing monitoring and improving safeguards designed to prevent harmful or unintended behavior.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of harmful
Adjective
  • Ahead of the comedy’s second season, FX brought on Danny DeVito to play Dennis and Dee’s impish, absentee businessman father, Frank, in hopes that his presence would bring in more viewers.
    — Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The wild card in the Society is Gloria (Greta Lee, dazzlingly good), an impish sprite who’s hard to pin down.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of impish
Adjective
  • Then England attracted adverse attention for openly drinking in the Queensland resort of Noosa when 2-0 down in a one-sided Ashes series in Australia.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Women with high occupational heat exposure were roughly twice as likely to suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth as those working in cooler conditions, and faced elevated risks of adverse birth outcomes overall.
    — Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of adverse

Browse Nearby Words

mischiefs
mischievous
mischievousness
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Cite this Entry

“Mischievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mischievous. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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